DVD Comparison Marcel Carné's - Les Enfants du paradis - Children of Paradise - DVD Review Marcel Carné les Enfants du paradis Children of Paradise DVD Review Marcel Carné les Enfants du paradis Children of Paradise DVD Review Marcel Carné

(aka "Children of Paradise")

directed by Marcel Carné
France 1945

Before I launch into my personal platitudes about this film masterpiece, detailed here are some of the better known anecdotal minutia regarding the 1945 French film Children of Paradise:

Still said to be shown at least once everyday somewhere in Paris.

The most expensive French film to ever made at the time with excessively detailed costumes and sets.

Filmed during Nazi occupation of France in 1943.

Film length restrictions at the time forced it to become two films totaling three hours ten minutes .

Highly regarded as perhaps the greatest and most influential French film ever made.

In 1945, Marcel Carné along with Jacques Prévert were able to create a lavish cinematic representation of the passionate bond of performance artists using the backdrop of a pervading criminal element of 1820's Paris. "The show must go on" conquers all other idioms as characters each give of their true spirit for their craft, occasionally compromising both subtly and overtly, with their inner struggle endearing them to the audience.

Children of Paradise explores the concepts of love and art, with intricate juxtapositions that are interwoven with perhaps some of the wittiest dialogue ever written in the history of cinema. It reads much like a Shakespearean drama, as another link to its thespian forbearers. Dominating the tight narrative is the sophistication of Garance, the female lead played by Arletty. Passionately circling her to varying degrees are four men who have come to love her, each in a different way. These characters exude their own individual appeal with vain bravado, sensitivity, animal cunning and pompous wealth.

A star of the film just as much as any character, is the Funambules Theater where much of the theatrical presentations take place. The viewer is made to feel a privileged member of the bawdy crowd appreciating the developmental "mask" that the performers imbue. The border of art and life are criss-crossed time and again with masterful perfection. This evocation and the sardonic dialogue are part of the films deepest strengths.

Working well on its own surface storyline, Children of Paradise is also a subtle representation of art itself and even more vehemently displaying the portrait of the artists who perform for us. Has the plight of the performance artist ever been portrayed with such accuracy? Perhaps not. Above all else, I would suggest that this film, with its dedication to the art of the mime and curious references to artistic abstraction is above all else; French, both culturally and aesthetically.

With interpretational openness of its narrative, Children of Paradise has been examined to a much further extent than its auteurs had intended. Perhaps this has given it the longevity in cinematic history that it holds with such justifiable loftiness.

The final scene seems to bundle the films deeper affectations and fundamentals together with the artist pursuing his heartfelt love, but blockaded and betrayed by his own performance craft. An ideal which enables the "common man" to perform as much as the marquee'd star, perhaps informing us that his emotional catharsis is not only for the "artiste oblige", ... but that we are all inherently "children of paradise".

I can't say enough about this film and DVD... both spectacular beyond words. Just buy it and watch it over and over for the rest of your life.out of

Gary W. Tooze

Posters (CLICK to enlarge)

Theatrical Release: March 9th, 1945 - France

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DVD Comparison:

Criterion (2 disc) - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Second Sight - Region 2 - PAL

(Criterion - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Second Sight - Region 2 - PAL - RIGHT)

DVD Box Covers
Distribution	Criterion Collection Spine # 141 Region 1 - NTSC	Second Sight Films Ltd Region 2 - PAL
Runtime	1:41:45 + 1:29:18 = 3:11:03	3:01:48 (4% PAL speedup)
Video	1.37:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 7.85 + 6.9 mb/s NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s	1.37:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.61 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes
Bitrate: Criterion Disc 1
Criterion Disc 2
Bitrate: Second Sight
Audio	French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)	French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
Subtitles	English, and none	English (non-removable)
Features	Release Information: Studio: Criterion Collection Aspect Ratio: Full Screen (Standard) - 1.33:1 Edition Details: • Commentary by film scholar Brian Stonehill • Commentary by film scholar Charles Affron • 24 page booklet, including transcribed excerpts from Brian Stonehill's 1990 interview with Marcel Carne, cast biographies, and essay by film historian Peter Cowie • New restored and digital transfer of the film • Video introduction by director Terry Gilliam • New and improved English subtitle translation • Jacques Prevert's film treatment • Production designs by Aleandre Trauner • Production stills gallery • Filmographies for Marcel Carne and Jacques Prevert • U.S. theatrical trailer DVD Release Date: January 22, 2002 Double Keep Case Chapters 24 + 23	Release Information: Studio: Second Sight Films Aspect Ratio: Original aspect Ratio 1.37:1 Edition Details: • Trailer DVD Release Date: September 18th, 2000 Keep Case Chapters: 26

Recommended Reading in French Cinema (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)


The Films in My Life by Francois Truffaut, Leonard Mayhew	French Cinema: A Student's Guide by Philip Powrie, Keith Reader	Agnes Varda by Alison Smith	Godard on Godard : Critical Writings by Jean-Luc Godard	Notes on the Cinematographer by Robert Bresson	Robert Bresson (Cinematheque Ontario Monographs, No. 2) by James Quandt	The Art of Cinema by Jean Cocteau	French New Wave by Jean Douchet, Robert Bonnono, Cedric Anger, Robert Bononno	French Cinema: From Its Beginnings to the Present by Remi Fournier Lanzoni

Check out more in "The Library"

Comments:

Not much to say here that the images don't tell a story of their own. The Criterion is a marvelous patriarch, and the Second Sight is a vagabond cousin. This comparison shows a little cropping by Criterion on the top edge, but totally forgiven due to the extravagant differences between these two releases. Criterion have put the film on two DVDs (one DVD9, one DVD5), where Second Sight have just used one (DVD9). The Second Sight print appears to have been digitally brightened although still has some very dark scenes. The Criterions contrast is extremely even throughout, and obviously much cleaner and sharper. Second Sight's edition did come out 2 years before the Criterion so its hard to fault them as, to my knowledge, it was the first release of "Children of Paradise" on DVD. Still, lets me honest, Criterion are the Kings of this medium - the greatest DVD production company in the world. Their Extras are very insightful in this package from their 24 page liner notes to their Commentary by Brian Stonehill. This is one film you don't want to skrimp on. Get the Criterion now, if you don't already own it... and if you do, buy a second copy to place in your safety deposit box.

- Gary W. Tooze

DVD Menus

(Criterion - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Second Sight - Region 2 - PAL - RIGHT)

Subtitle Sample